


Triumph

by SeparationBoundary



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Busboy!Eren, Dick riding, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mutual Pining, Top!Levi, bottom!Eren, dishwasher!Levi, ex-con!Levi, vintage motorcycle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-19 11:30:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16533773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeparationBoundary/pseuds/SeparationBoundary
Summary: Eren's got a job as a busboy at a local diner.  Turns out the dishwasher is an ex-con and cute as hell.  The man wants nothing to do with Eren, can the younger man change his mind?





	1. Chapter 1

 

Prologue:

It was Eren’s first job.  That might seem odd for a 22 year old but there it was.  Eren had lived at home after school; helping his father, a doctor, and his mother, a midwife.  He had a career in medicine lined up. In a few years he’d go to university and become a doctor himself.  He didn't need outside work right then.

Then, his father died.  Eren’s mother tried to keep the practice afloat, but the truth was that, despite her and Eren’s skill and experience, neither was an actual doctor.  Folks tended to respect titles.

So Eren found a job.  It was a shitty one but, hey, jobs were few and far between in a small town.

He was the lowest of the low at the Canal View cafe, he bussed tables, cleaned spills, unclogged toilets, all for minimum wage.

He didn't mind the work, his only complaint was the loneliness of it; the wait staff and cook barely deigned to talk to him and the dishwasher - a more captive audience - responded to his cheerful questions and comments with grunts.

That dishwasher was interesting in Eren’s opinion.  For one he was startlingly handsome - small and lithe, Eren could see the muscles rippling under his shirt.  His pale, creamy skin, coal black hair, and deep set, blue-grey eyes just added to the overall effect.

 

Eren was drawn to the small man like a moth to flame.  

The owner of the Canal View warned Eren vaguely,

“Don't agitate him, kid.  He’s a loner. I think he doesn’t like people.”

“He’s been in the Pen, you know,” The surly cook, Shadis, said darkly.

Eren gaped at him, “What?”

“Locked up,” He said, looking about as if he was afraid someone might be listening, “South District Penitentiary. I think he killed a man.”

Petra, one of the waitresses, said, “He doesn’t socialise much.  I think he’s really lonely.”

Eren spent his days watching the man. Was he lonely?  He did seem kind of sad but it was hard to tell. He kept his sharp featured face carefully schooled. 

Nanaba, the other waitress, who had known him the longest, said “I think it’s tough getting your life back when you’re a convicted felon.”

 

Ch. 1

Wednesday ---

Only the middle of the afternoon and it was already hot inside the diner’s tiny kitchen. By this time it usually was, thanks to the old fashioned steam heat and the warmth from the stove and grill. The swelling murmur of conversation and the clink of cutlery on china coming from the dining area seemed muffled in the heat.  The back door of the restaurant stood open despite the occasional flurry of snow outside and everyone in the kitchen was sweating. It was toasty the dining area though, fans moved the deliciously food-scented air and the constantly opening door kept the temperature down. The place was packed as usual which didn’t help the heat issue in the kitchen - everyone was hustling.  Eren and the cook, Shadis, had rolled the sleeves on their t-shirts. Levi, who always wore button ups had shed his shirt entirely and was looking godlike in his white tank style undershirt. He had the top part of his apron down and the tank was stuck to his skin with sweat and water from the sink, revealing every muscle. Eren’s heart beat faster every time he saw him.

About 2:30, right at the end of the lunch rush, Levi came out in the dining area to help bus tables.  His appearance caused a stir amongst men and women alike. Eren, wiping down a table next to a gaggle of beautiful girls who were squealing and murmuring over Levi, felt like chopped liver.

After the rush Levi took his break and ate a sandwich while perched on a stool next to the propped open back door.

To Eren’s surprise, he was reading.  Some venerable book with tiny crabbed text in a language that Eren couldn’t read.  He had also retrieved, from somewhere in the kitchen, a bottle of wine with a foreign label.  He poured himself a small plastic tumbler full and sipped it with his meal.

Eren wanted to talk to Levi but couldn’t work up the nerve or come up with a reason for interrupting the small, serious man.

 

Thursday ---

Eren was well and truly smitten but if Levi noticed the younger man’s melting gazes and soft sighs then he didn’t let on.  Levi’s day was very structured, his routine the same; he arrived about 10:50, ten minutes before opening, he bent single mindedly over his dishes until after the lunch rush then he took his break.  More dishes until the 10pm closing time when he wiped down the kitchen, mopped, and was gone.

 

It had taken weeks before today for Eren to work up the nerve to talk to Levi more than a brief sentence.  But this was it. Today was the day. He was going to do it.

Eren set his bus tray firmly down on the flat stainless steel pre wash area of the sink.  Levi reached for it but Eren didn’t let go.

The dark haired man looked up at him.  Eren blushed. Levi frowned.

Eren leaned - as casually as he could manage - onto the dishes in the bus tray.  Levi couldn’t retrieve it that way.

“So … how long have you worked here … L-Levi?”

_ Oh god that was as smooth as gravel. _

Levi pinned him mercilessly with his pewter gaze.

“Kid, I got dishes to wash.”

Everything Eren was going to say vanished in a heartbeat. He had to raise his voice over the wet roar of the dishwasher.

“Why do you talk like that?”

Levi’s eyebrows shot up,

“Pardon?”

“I know you’re smart, I know you read some foreign language.  Why do you talk like a thug?”

Levi stared at him for a moment.  The dishwasher completed it’s last cycle and the wet roar softened to a wet hiss.

“I was in the joint.  Didn’t you hear?”

Eren colored and studied the tile floor.

“Yeah, but you’re not a thug.”

“How do you know, brat?”

Eren figited, “I … I just do.”

Levi snorted and pulled on the bus pan, almost dragging Eren into himself.

“You don’t dress like it!  You don’t have tattoos!” Eren insisted, realising he was losing this verbal battle.  His gaze couldn’t help lingering on the other man’s smooth, milky, unmarked skin

Levi rolled his eyes and studiously ignored the young man.

Eren wrung his hands for a bit trying to decide if he should try again or just flee.  He decided to try again.

“Uh … “

Levi turned on him with an exasperated sigh.  Eren, alarmed, said the first thing on his mind.

“Y-you didn't get any tats while you were in … in …?”

“Prison?” Levi said driley. “Wouldn’t want to speak like a thug.” 

He turned slowly back to his dishes, spraying off each item meticulously before putting it in the rack and sending it through the dishwasher.

“My people don’t mark their bodies,” he said to the dirty dishes.

“Your people?”

Levi leveled a look at the young man.

“Jews. My dick’s snipped too if you’d like that tidbit of info.”

He turned one shoulder to Eren.  Despite Levi being half a foot shorter than the younger man, the movement was full of barely contained power.  Eren couldn’t help but wonder what he was like in bed. 

Eren’s mouth felt dry and his trousers too tight.  He retreated.

 

Eren was in agony.  Levi had just  _ had _ to mentioned his dick. Eren groaned. He spent the rest of his shift envisioning Levi’s penis.  Was it biggish? Medium? Petite like him? Whatever the man had in his trousers was a significantly heavily weighted something that shifted when he walked.

Not that Eren had been studying the front of the dishwashers trousers.

Much.

Truth was Eren didn’t care a bit about size. It was about the man the dick was attached to.

And Eren  _ liked _ the man in question.

  
  


Friday ---

The next day, Eren was back by the dishwasher before his shift was half up.  He mooned around a bit, trying to stay out of the way of the kitchen staff - the dishwashing machine didn’t have its own room. It sat against a wall in the small space that was the kitchen and prep area all in one.  A service hatch, lined up with plates of food ready to be served, and a narrow doorway connected the kitchen to the dining area.

After a bit, Levi pretended to have just noticed him.

“What?  You don’t believe what I said about my dick?  I gotta show it to you to prove it?”

Eren giggled - much to his horror - like a schoolgirl with a crush.  He tried to straighten himself out. He cleared his throat.

“No, ah … no … ah …”

The older man frowned at him,

“Look kid, I …”

“Wanna get something to eat after work?!”

Eren blushed.  He’d almost shouted that at the man.

Levi looked confused, then irritated, then thoughtful.

It was a universal fact that if you worked in a food establishment, after a while, sooner or later, you’d get sick of whatever type of food they served.

Seafood restaurant?  You’d find the smell of hot vats of oil and breaded fish a gag inducing scent.  Hot dog place? You’d rather eat dirt than another goddamned hot dog.

So it was with the workers there at the Canal View.  Hamburgers? Limp salads? Questionable, slightly sad, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches?  Not on your life.

“I … I was thinking Chinese,” Eren said hopefully. 

Levi turned slowly and began putting up the last of the dishes; the pots and pans, the containers off of the prep line. The dining area was quiet, the last of the customers gone.

The kitchen and wait staff were quickly leaving.  There was only the drawer to count out and the floor to mop - the latter Levi’s job.

Eren babbled as Levi went for the mop bucket.

“Or we could do Thai … I wasn’t sure if you liked pizza … Pizza’s kinda for eating at home and I wasn’t sure if you’d want to come home with me …”

Levi froze, head down, mop in hand.  The kitchen was empty. Suddenly Levi swung around on Eren.

“Wait.  Are you  _ coming on to me _ , brat?”

Eren squeaked in alarm but said nothing.  That  _ had _ been his intention, clumsy as it was.  Oh hell. What if Levi wasn’t gay?

“Jesus, how old are you?” Levi snapped. 

“22,” Eren said defensively,

“Yeah, well I’m 30, so that ends that.”  He bent over the spigot, filling the mop bucket with steaming water and some nose-stinging cleanser.

Eren stood for a moment, hands clenched into fists and - embarrassingly - feeling like he was going to cry.  Fury slowly replaced the helpless feeling,

“Yeah?  Why?!”

Levi raised his eyebrows at the tone of Eren’s voice but his reply came fast and hard.

“So you’re telling me that some 22 year old kid wants to suck off some old ex-con dude who washes dishes for a living?”

For one long, golden moment, Eren, who had not really thought  _ specifically  _ about what he wanted to do with Levi, was mesmerised by the mental image.  He finally snapped out of it.

“One, you’re  _ not _ old, two, I don’t give a  _ fuck _ about your prison record!”

Levi leaned on his mop.

“Feisty there, Yeager,”

“Please?” The young man said, “I-I just wanna get to know you,”

“A guy whose best prospect for life is washing dishes?”

Eren gave him a look so green, so ernest, so filled with infatuation.

“Please?”

The older man stared at him for a few moments and Eren’s heart skipped a beat.  What would he do if he was rejected?

Abruptly Levi shrugged and bent to his mopping.

“Suit yourself, I haven't gotten any good head in a while,”

Eren knew he was just teasing but he blushed up to the roots of his hair anyway. 


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

Saturday ---

They had decided on today.  Today was the day. Their first ‘date’ as Eren thought of it.  He was beside himself with excitement.

 

One thing you could say for Levi was that he came to work, he did his job well, and he saved his money.  He slept in a tiny shitty room in a tiny shitty neighborhood off of Titan blvd. He got one free meal at the restaurant daily and barely ate anything else.  He washed his clothes in the piece of shit washer that crouched on the other side of the dishwashing machine at work. It was there for washing the mop heads and server’s towels (which was his job anyway), and an extra load a week went unnoticed.

He did, however, spend his money on a few indulgences.

When Eren met him in the alleyway behind the restaurant, he discovered his crush shrugging into a black leather biker jacket and sat on a gleaming black vintage motorcycle.

He’d had no idea.

In a town where all the retired old rich white men owned Harleys to counter their drooping penises, Levi rode a 1965 T120R Triumph Bonneville.  Made in England, it had been badly used and Levi had slowly restored it. Now it was jet black with refurbished everything and looked perfect between Levi’s thighs.

Eren had to struggle to ignore the burgeoning stiffness between his own legs.

“You getting on, or what?” Levi asked.

  
  


They’d stopped at the nearest Thai place but it was empty (on a Saturday night!) and looked kind of seedy.

“Filthy,” Levi had hissed.

Eren, clinging closely, face pressed to Levi’s back and inhaling the scent of leather and Murphy’s oil soap, secretly wished they’d never find a place to eat.

They finally settled on pizza, Levi propping the Triumph on the kickstand right outside the door. 

They were sat down and waiting for their pizza when Levi spoke,

“I suppose you want to know the story?”

Eren fiddled with his straw,

“The story?”

“You know you’re curious, kid,”  Levi took a swig of his beer. “Well it’s just another ex-con’s fairy tale about how he was imprisoned even though he was innocent.”

Levi paused to stab a bit violently at his tiny salad.  He looked up and Eren could see the wariness in his eyes.  No doubt he’d rarely told this story. To potential partners, to employers, to anyone who wanted to be his friend, maybe.  No one else. It was better to do without, keep your head down, go without human contact. But he had decided to tell Eren.

“So I was in college --”

Eren started despite himself then cursed his own stupidity.  The man was well spoken and well read and hella smart, of course he’s been to University.

“I roomed with a friend and we were just walking home from a party when they noticed the lights on in the physics lab.  Well Hange is some kinda science genius slash nut so, despite our being both a bit drunk, she rushes into the building to protect her precious … whatever.”

Levi took a couple of gulps of beer.

“Long story short, we get there and there’s assholes breaking up the place and stealing stuff.  Hange goes insane and starts trying to grab the stuff. Obviously that means I have to wade in and start throwing punches.  The thieves - there were six - manage to get clear and run out.”

Eren’s green eyes were wide as saucers.

Levi drained his beer, 

“And the clincher?  _ They _ called the cops and reported that  _ we _ were burgling the place.”  Levi shook his head ruefully, “Cops arrested us, the other guys had had on masks and gloves so we had no fingerprints and no faces to describe.  They’d gotten away with, like, $3000 worth of equipment, so Grand Larceny it was.”

“God,” Eren breathed.

“Hange’s prints were on everything, so I confessed.  I was lucky to only get six years.”

Levi sat up and gestured for more beer, miming a pitcher being poured.

When the beer arrived, Levi drained half a glass.

Eren sat with his mouth open.

The silence stretched out.

“But … but … !”

Levi’s gaze flickered over the young man.

“You were innocent!”

“Every con will tell you he’s innocent.  I could be lying.”

“I’ll find this … Hange person, and ask them!”

Levi looked indulgently amused … and something else.

“OK, you got my story.  Change of subject. You came on to me. Are you even gay?”

Sideswiped by the subject change, Eren fumbled a bit.

“I … I don’t  … how do I tell?”

Levi’s grey blue eyes were piercing.

“Well, you came on to a dude for one thing.” He sipped his beer, “You’ve done it before, I assume?  Fucking I mean.”

“With girls.  A few times.”

“What did you think?”

“Well it was … I got off, but …”

“Jesus brat, if you’ve been in a pussy and can’t work up any more passion than that, then you are  _ not  _ straight!”

“Well, it was  _ nice _ and all, but …”

“Kid, if you’re straight - or Bi like me - pussy is sublime.  All warm and wet and all that soft female flesh to kiss and fondle.”

“So, if you’re Bi … ?”

“Fucking a guy and fucking a girl are two totally different experiences.  If you’re Bi you love them both. It’s like liking Chinese food and pizza, too.”  He gestured with his slice of pizza. “Polar opposites in taste, texture, and ingredients but you can’t get enough of either of them.”

Eren gulped his beer, trying to wrap his head around the conversation.

“So which do you like better?”

Levi shrugged, 

“That’s not an issue.  If you’re fuckable, you’re fuckable.  Pizza? Chinese? Sign me up.”

The waitress wandered by,

“Closing time gentlemen,”

Levi grunted and drained his beer.  He glanced at the tab and handed the waitress several bills.

“The rest is yours, gorgeous,”

Pizza indeed.  The waitress blushed and giggled.

 

Out on the street, Levi turned up his coat collar against the freezing wind.  A few snowflakes hastened by.

“Do you need a ride back to the restaurant?”

Eren stared at him, then dropped his gaze, blushing.

“I thought … I thought …”

Levi had slung one muscular leg over the saddle of the Triumph.  Because of his height he had to lean the machine over at a precipitous angle.  Despite this, he had no problem holding the heavy bike up.

“You thought I was gonna put out on the first date?”  He asked.

Eren went brick red.

“N-no!  Not that.  Well, OK, maybe that.  I don’t know!”

“Kid,“ Levi said, not unkindly, “I like you.  You’re cute. You’ve got  _ chutzpah _ , but you’re 22 years old …”

Eren’s lips pulled away from his teeth in a snarl and both hands balled into fists.

“I’m NOT some kid!”

Levi’s eyebrows climbed upwards.

“I’m old enough to know what I want!  And I … I … want you!”

They stood there in tableau, tiny snowflakes swirling around them like curious insects. 

Finally Levi moved,

“OK, Yeager, fair enough,”  He jumped upward suddenly and came back down, straight legged, onto the kickstarter.  The Bonneville’s engine roared to life. He had to almost shout over the gutteral noise.

“There’s plenty of time for you to see some sense.  See you tomorrow.”

  
  


Monday ---

Levi was trying to be the mature one.  He was trying to ignore the younger man’s blatant overtures.  Trying to be the grown up. He had, after all, nothing to offer the young man.

But the fact was that Eren was coming onto him hard and Levi thought the young man was cute as fuck.  That glowing tan skin, the cheerful grin. And those eyes, those green eyes full of enthusiasm and desire.  It had been years since he’d found someone he really liked. And he wasn’t sure if anybody had ever looked at him like that.  What should he do? Should he do it? Should he encourage a kid who was eight years his junior? He was interested, the kid was interested.  Despite his calling him “kid” they were both adults. It seemed right. Fuck!

 

Eren, for his part, continued to sidle around all day, stealing glances at Levi every chance he got and shooting him little smiles when he caught his eye.  The older man studiously ignored him at first, then loosened up enough to speak to him. He never acknowledged Eren’s hints or flirted back. Eren began to worry that he was cultivating a friend and not a potential lover.  He redoubled his efforts.

 

The rest of the week was a subtle tug of war between Eren’s overt advances and Levi’s stubbornly refusing to acknowledge them.  Eren was ramping it up and Levi was slowly falling prey; bantering almost playfully, even smiling the occasional tiny smile in the younger man’s direction.  Eren was eager and insistant and well pleased with their progress. Eren was happy.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Friday ---

Eren came in at 11:00 and Levi was already there. The lunch rush was beginning so the two of them could only nod to each other. 

At noon, at the peak of the rush,  Eren was bussing a table right next to the door, idly watching the snow falling in big fat flakes, striking the windows like big, slow, albino moths, when the bell over the door jingled urgently.  A woman swept in, bringing snow with her. She was tall with ruddy brown hair caught up in a messy ponytail and thick glasses that looked like more smudge than clean glass. She stomped twice on the rubber rug and flicked snow off of her coat.  Eren, who was right there, seized her attention.

“Does Levi work here?” She asked abruptly, “Levi Ackerman?”

“Y-yes.  He’s in the back.  Should I get him? Wait … are you Hange?”

The woman didn't seem in the least bit off put by a complete stranger knowing her name.  She nodded curtly.

“Yes.  Levi is here?  Can I speak to him?”

 

Ten minutes later the woman was reaching across a booth to grasp both of Levi’s hands as he bent his head, clearly struggling with himself.  Eren watched anxiously.

 

Twenty minutes after that, Hange was gone and Levi was at his sink, pale but composed.  Eren drifted by him several times, wanting to know what was wrong but understanding that it would be inappropriate to ask.

Finally, at closing, with only the cashier counting the drawer and a single waitress counting her tips, Levi spoke in a low voice as Eren passed by. 

“Nothing to worry about, kid,” he said, sounding as if there was plenty to worry about, “It’s my cousin.  She’s … she died.”

Eren froze, horrified.

“We weren’t close.  She wasn’t even a close cousin - third or fourth cousin or something.  In fact she didn’t like me very much, but … but she was the only family I had left.”

“I’m so sorry, Levi,” Eren said,

“S’ok.  Her foster family is dealing with the funeral and everything.”

He bent to his last dishes.  If he had looked lonely before, it was now ten times worse. He seemed to droop at the sink. 

Later, after everyone else had gone, Levi locked up.

Eren hovered around like a ghost, wanting to help but not knowing how.

Levi produced his mostly drunk bottle of wine and another, unopened one.

“Drink?”

Eren nodded.

 

An hour later they were both drunk as fools and staggering through the snow to Eren’s apartment which was only four blocks away.  The Triumph sat, lonely, under an awning behind the restaurant.

 

They managed to make it to the door, Eren fumbling drunkenly with his key, making scratching sounds against the lock.  Then they were inside and Eren grabbed the older man, slamming his own back against the closed door and dragging Levi against him.  They kissed; deep, sensuous, sloppy kisses as they tore at each other’s clothes.

Soon they were on the bed and Levi took out his grief and loneliness on Eren’s willing body.  Levi sucked and kissed and licked almost every inch of the younger man as if obsessed. Eren could do nothing but gasp and writhe under his experienced hands, his clever mouth. When Levi finally took him, he was too eager, too rough, and Eren was too blissed out, too greedy to pace himself. When Levi entered him Eren felt a little pain, a burning and stretching, and then intense, incredible, pleasure.  They did it twice in a row, Eren so keen that he riled Levi back up almost immediately. Finally, still a bit drunk but sated, they drifted off to sleep, clinging to each other like men drowning.

 

Saturday ---

 

In the morning Eren awoke alone.

He patted the empty side of the bed.  It was cold.

“Shit.  Shit, shit, shit.”

  
  


At the restaurant Levi refused to even look at Eren.  

Eren bussed tables and wiped the counter and cleaned the toilets like an automaton.  Levi hadn’t spoken to him. He was even avoiding him, a black scowl on his face.

Eren couldn’t stop the hateful voice in his head.

_ Stupid!  Find a great guy, a guy you like, and start something selfish with him when he was drunk and grieving.  Stupid! He didn’t want you or he would have invited you over that first night, when he was sober. You’re just a stupid kid he wasted his time on, that’s why he left as soon as you were asleep.  Ugh, I’m a pity fuck! _

But pity fuck or not Eren couldn’t stop thinking about it; pale hands on his tan flesh, lips and teeth on his neck, his chest, his nipples, the insides of his thighs.  He had daydreamed about his first time with a man, his first time with Levi - ever since their talk over pizza - but he had never suspected how intoxicating it could be.

His mind shoved the image of them together into the forefront, Levi’s eager mouth, his strong hands.  From the beginning Eren had clung to Levi, thinking only of himself, his own pleasure, begging for more, pleading for more of Levi’s cock; faster, deeper. 

And Levi had obliged.  Shocked with grief and drunk off his ass he had done what Eren had asked. 

Eren felt like a monster.

 

Sunday ---

Sunday was both men’s day off.

Eren woke late, jerked off thinking of Levi, then wallowed around in his bed acutely aware that his sheets were a bit rank.  He didn’t seemed to have any energy to do anything like household chores or personal hygiene.

About noon he ate cold and slightly stale pizza out of a box on the floor from two days before and jerked off again.  He dozed off after.

 

Levi woke at his regular time, made a pot of tea, donned a pristine white smock (rather like an artist’s smock), covered his inky hair with a white cloth and set about cleaning his tiny room with a vengeance. He had covered his mouth and nose with another cloth to exclude dust (Imaginary at this point. Levi cleaned the apartment within an inch of its life twice a week at least.) and didn’t think of Eren or their night together more than two dozen times or so. 

 

Monday —-

Work was suddenly excruciating. Whenever one of them looked at the other, the other was looking at him. Levi’s expression was carefully blank but Eren could only see accusation and betrayal.  Levi could only see a young man who was wasting his time.

 

Eren had no one to talk to about what had happened, about how he felt, and when Levi took Tuesday off to go to the funeral he moped around, miserable. 

To his surprise, Levi appeared with Hange just in time for the supper rush. The older man shed his black dress jacket, hanging it carefully on a nail by the lockers and began tying an apron on. Eren, who had taken over the dishes for the day, silently gave up his position by the sink and grabbed his bus pan. 

In the dining area he spotted Hange. 

“Levi wasn’t supposed to work today,” he said when he got close. He hated how accusatory he sounded; Hange wasn’t to blame. She didn’t seem disturbed, though. 

“That’s Levi for you,” she said, wolfing down a piece of cherry pie. “He says he’s got to keep busy or he’ll go crazy”. She drained her coffee. 

Eren fidgeted, wiping the next table as slowly as possible. He wanted to ask Hange if Levi had talked about Friday night, hell, if he’d ever mentioned Eren at all. Hange was watching him curiously. Finally, after the waitress had refilled her coffee (and she had bolted half of it down), she spoke. 

“You seem closer to Levi than most people.”

Eren’s heart leapt, then squeezed into a tiny hurt ball. He had hoped to be. 

Hange stood. 

“I’m sorry but I have to go. I promised a friend a ride …”  She cocked her head. 

Eren was wiping down the table for the third time. Hange seemed to start suddenly. Her eyes widened behind her thick glasses. 

“You’re the reason he’s so on edge …” she said slowly. 

Eren went as pale as chalk. 

“Has he…?  Does he talk about …?”

Hange shook her head firmly. 

“No. No, that one doesn’t talk about anything,” she said. “Plays his cards close to the vest,” 

She suddenly laid a warm hand on his arm. 

“I’ll come back another time and we’ll talk.”

Eren nodded miserably. 

“He needs someone right now even though he thinks he doesn’t,” Hange said, “Don’t give up on him.”

She patted his arm and left out into the cold evening. 


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Wednesday —-

Levi tried not to be stupid about it.  He really did. But they’d been  _ way _ too drunk.  What if the young man hadn’t really wanted to do it?  Levi cringed. But the thought that he’d gotten to worship the boy’s tan skin, kiss over his gorgeous body, hear the lovely noises he’d made …

and that he might never get the chance again.

Shit.  Who was he to think he might find love?  Runty dude in a dead-end job  _ and  _ with a record?  Forget about it.

He let his gaze slide sideways and allowed himself to watch Eren as he stacked the dirty dishes next to the sink.  The boy was beautiful, that cute face and smooth skin. And so sweet, too. What if the lad had just gone along with him?  So what if he’d been eager to have sex when he was sober? What if he changed his mind and was too drunk to say? Levi shook his head sadly.  He would have loved to have something with the boy. When the younger man cut a glance at him, Levi averted his eyes. 

 

Eren began to think that he had well and truly fucked up.  Levi wouldn’t so much as meet his eye, much less speak to him.  What had happened? What had changed? Was their night together so terrible?  It was true that was his first experience with a man but he’d enjoyed it so much.  He’d let Levi bend his pliant body to his will. Had he said something? Done something?  Not done something? Had he been too clingy? It had been wonderful and Eren had thought Levi had loved it as much as he had.

_ Then why did he leave without saying goodby? _

  
  


Levi and Hange were in his room that evening sorting through photographs. 

“You should keep this one,” Hange said. Levi looked at it and grunted. He knew why he had to be the one to sort through his cousins stuff but he hated it nonetheless. 

Hange threw down three pictures in a pile like a person dealing cards, “family, family, family …. this is her Foster Family’s pile … Levi?”

She looked up. Levi was staring into the middle distance, a pile of photographs held loosely in his hands. 

“Who’re you thinking about?”

Levi came back to himself with a shake of his dark head. 

“Nobody,”

“Liar,”

He glared at Hange. 

“Is it that boy?  The one from the restaurant?”

Levi jerked and stared at her. 

“H-how … how … ?”

“Just a hunch. What happened between you and him, Levi?  The kid clearly has his mind on you.”

The pictures in his hands slid to the floor and he bowed his head. 

“Shit, four-eyes. I fucked up this time.”

“It can’t be all that ba—“

“It is, it is!”  Levi let out a groan and shook his head, his fine black hair falling into his face.

“I am a stupid fucker!  We … we were together … Jesus.”

Hange settled a warm hand on his knee, “so what’s the problem?”

Levi’s head snapped up, “I … I took advantage … we were drunk.  I wanted him so bad.”

“He didn’t seem like someone who’d been taken advantage of …”

“I thought maybe he could be the one, Hange!  I  _ liked _ him!  He trusted me!  AND it was his first time.  Fuck. I’m an idiot. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!”

“Ok, ok, calm down. He didn't seem upset … more sad, really …”

Levi groaned again. 

“Seriously, the kid seemed fine aside from that. Did you force him to do anything?”

“Well, no - of course not! - but …”

“Then I think you are blowing things out of proportion like you do!”

“You weren’t there!”

“I may as well have been!  You’re doing it again!”

“Fuck!  What?”

“Trotting out your self abuse!” Hange said, standing, “acting like you don’t  _ deserve _ to be happy!”

Levi’s chin fell to his chest.

“But Hange …”

“But Levi …” Hange said, subsiding, mocking gently.

“I really, really like him Hans …”  Levi scrubbed his face with both hands. “But cute 22 year olds don’t fall for asshole old ex-cons!” He said

“Bullshit!” Hange said.  She settled down again and took both his hands.  They were chilly in her warm ones. “You are a good man, Levi.  I think this kid likes you. A lot.”

“I think you’re mistaken,”

“Fine, OK, you need to know if he likes you or not.”

Levi looked up at her, anguish on his face.

“Well then you need to quit agonising over it  _ to me _ and talk to  _ the boy _ !”

 

Eren dragged his feet as usual after closing, lingering around until Levi locked up.

Levi started sipping wine after everyone else had left.  He wiped down the kitchen, ignoring Eren, and mopped, downing gulps of wine intermittently.

By the time he was done he was tipsy.

“Come sit with me,” Levi said suddenly, indicating a booth in the dim dining area.  Eren scrambled and sat, eager and happy that Levi was speaking to him.

“We need … we need to … to talk about that night,”  Levi said without preamble. He seemed to be speaking to the dishrag he twisted in both hands.

Eren sat forward eagerly, he  _ wanted _ to talk about it, wanted to  _ repeat _ it, over and over ...

“What I did was wrong …”

Eren’s smile froze and he searched his memory - and he’d gone over that night dozens of times, had jerked off to the memory - and couldn’t think of a thing Levi had done wrong.  It had been so wonderful; intense, passionate. Had Levi not enjoyed it? Had that been the problem all along? Levi getting no pleasure from it, just going through the motions? The thought chilled Eren.

Levi stared at the boy’s stricken face and misinterpreted the expression.  He stood unsteadily. Fuck Hange. This talking thing just wasn’t working. He wasn’t a talker.  The kid was clearly traumatised by the whole thing. Why go over it again?

“So, yeah, it’s best if we both stay away from each other,”

Eren’s jaw dropped open and he stared up at the older man who was already turning to go

“But wait … you can’t …”  Eren stood shakily, “Damnit Levi!” He yelled at the man’s back as it disappeared out the door.

 

Eren came out the back of the cafe fast enough to slam the door back on it’s hinges, knocking off long flecks of old paint.  Levi had just gunned the Triumph’s engine but caught sight of Eren out of the corner of his eye. He jerked the handlebars left.

The Triumph slid, back tire spinning on the snowy pavement, and for one horrible second Eren thought that the man that he wanted so badly was going to end up a smear on the dark tarmac.  But Levi calmly put one foot down and the bike skewed in a tight circle and ended up facing Eren.

“Levi!” Eren shouted, “you gotta understand …” 

_ … how much I like you _

Levi’s face was a mask of fury and guilt, agony and shame.

“OK, yeah, I got it!”  he yelled over the Triumph’s engine.  “You’re upset! I’m a terrible person!  I don’t deserve you!” Here he choked off, visibly distressed, “I-I’m  _ sorry _ !”

The massive machine slewed around, back tire spinning up a cock’s tail of dirty water, and was gone, taking Levi with it.

Eren screamed his name but it bounced, unheard, off of the alley walls.

He wiped his face, thinking the water from the puddle had splattered him.  It wasn’t water, it was his own tears.

  
  


Eren waited around a while, hoping Levi would cool off or come to his senses or whatever, anything so long as he came back.  But he didn’t. Eren locked up the diner and walked home with his head down and both hands shoved into his pockets. The snow was coming down thickly and he couldn’t even see the tire marks from the Triumph any more.  Everything was smooth and quiet. He was only four blocks from his apartment. He trudged on.

When he reached his building he looked up through the veil of snowflakes.  Most peoples’ lights were off - it had to be close to midnight. Eren felt suddenly very small and lonely.  The thought that he might have lost Levi forever was heart wrenching to him. The cheerful young man had just assumed that there was a misunderstanding, that it would be cleared up, that Levi would become his boyfriend and they’d live happily ever after.  

Now this.  

Reality.  

Smack in the face.

He sighed and jogged up the steps to the glass front door.  He was kicking the snow off of his boots when a glint of light caught his eye.

He turned his head.

The street farther on was a mass of dark snowy shapes between the streetlamps.  He was sure the tiny glimmer had come from on down the block, behind that snowy shape maybe?

Eren turned to knock snow off of his other boot and the tiny scintillation caught the corner of his eye again.

Frowning he went slowly down the steps.

He walked farther down the block eyeballing each largish mass of snow.  Most were garbage left on the curb taking on outlandish shapes under a blanket of snow.  Eren approached the mound that he had thought the reflection came from. It was a grotesque configuration, rather like a sleeping dragon with backswept horns.  

Probably a piece of broken furniture under there.  Maybe an old dresser with a shattered mirror catching the light.

Eren snorted to himself at his own silliness and turned to go back to his building, aiming a kick at what would have been the dragon’s hip.  The entire pile shuddered at the blow and the snow fell away from the most prominent points.

A strangled sound escaped Eren; a cross between a moan and a low scream and his hand flew to his mouth.

There, in it’s open grave of snow, lay the Triumph.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

 

Eren tugged at the Triumph, sobbing.  It was lying in the gutter, handlebars twisted around so that the front wheel and headlamp pointed at the dark sky.  Eren jerked and heaved and pulled it shakily up onto it’s kickstand. The big machine was scraped and scratched all along the right side.  The throttle cable trigger had been torn off and the rear fender was bent.

The bike hadn’t just fallen.  It had been wrecked. 

And if it had been wrecked then Levi had been on it.

_ Oh god. _

Eren looked around wildly, running from man sized heap of snow to another.  Finally, almost at his own building he stopped, staring up at the sky in anguish, tears freezing on his cheeks.  

Where was Levi? Had he walked off?  And left his precious bike? He’d had to have hurt his head.  He’d never voluntarily leave the Triumph. Oh god. What if he was badly injured?  Or … dead?

Eren stepped backwards to lean against the building, feeling as if he couldn’t even support himself any longer, when he slipped.  He looked down numbly at the smear under his bootheel.

Red seeping through the fresh laid snow.

Blood.

  
  


Levi awoke and had no idea where he was.  He was in a bed. He was in pain. There was a low beeping sound and the smell of disinfectant.

_ Hospital. _

He craned his neck and looked down the length of his blanket covered body and immediately pain bloomed like a firecracker in various parts and he froze, a grimace on his face.  When the hurt ebbed he realised that there was someone beside the bed with his head down on the blanket, apparently asleep.

He knew those chestnut strands.  Eren.

Oh god.  Not the kid.  He felt bad enough.

He sat in silence for a moment.  Well, he had to do something. He needed a sip of water in the worst way.

"Eren,"

All that came out was a whispery croak.

"Eren!"

Better.  The brown head stirred.

Levi tried jiggling the leg that Eren's head was next to.  Bad idea. More pain.

"Eren!" Through gritted teeth.

Eren snorted in his sleep, turned his face toward Levi's, but immediately fell into a deeper sleep.

Levi snarled in frustration and glanced around the room.  The call button was in Eren's far hand. He did note that his biking leathers were neatly folded on a chair, topped with his helmet.  He could see the white gouges in the black finish on the right side.

"Fuck.  EREN!"

The boy started up at the hoarse bark and focussed on Levi.

"You're awake!"

"Why does everyone always say that?" Levi snapped irritably. "Pointing out to a person who's awake that they're awake is just stupid."

"Sorry!  How do you feel?"  Eren scrambled up and sat on the edge of Levi's bed, pouring him a cup of water.

"And now a stupid question.  I feel like shit." Levi snatched the water and drained the cup, coughing.  That lit up the pain and he clutched his right arm. "The fuuuuuck?"

Eren helped him get comfortable on the pillow again.

"You broke your ankle and bruised a couple of ribs on that side.  You’re black and blue all down your right leg and arm."

"Good thing I jerk off with my left hand," Levi said driely.

Eren blushed and Levi couldn't help but think he looked adorable.

"Where's my bike?" He asked.

Eren brightened.

"We've got it in the diner kitchen!  We were afraid to leave it out. Everyone's real worried about you."

"Tch, It'll be covered in grease,"

Eren looked abashed.

Levi handed him the styrofoam cup back and their fingers brushed.  Levi wanted so badly to grab that hand and bring it to his lips. To apologise for … for … whatever.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment.  The machines beeped and Eren mindlessly smoothed the blanket.

“Y’know you don’t have to be here,”Levi said.

“I … I want to,” Eren said eyes full of an emotion Levi, with his crap social skills, couldn’t interpret.

“It’s not necessary brat.  Just because we fucked--”

_ “I want to be here!” _

Levi recoiled at the tone, eyeing the younger man.

_ Could he not see what a loser Levi was?  And now he was a broken loser. _

More silence.  Eren sniffled, wiped his face, straightened and smoothed the blanket.

"Who found me?" Levi finally asked.

"I did!” Eren said eagerly, “You wrecked right next to my building."

"Yeah." Levi tentatively reached up with his left hand and rubbed the short hairs on the back of his neck. "The fucking car came out of nowhere.  I glanced up ... at your window ..."

Levi studied his hands and Eren blushed crimson.

"They said he ran the red light," Eren said, "They found the car wrapped around a telephone pole down the street,"

"Serves him right,"

Eren figited.

"Levi ..."

A sharp rap sounded from the door then it swung open.  A big, pretty nurse with waist length braids swept in, towing a cart bristling with miscellany.  "Well look who's up! How are we feeling?"

She bustled about, taking vitals and refilling the water carafe, getting Levi's lunch order and snapping the blanket perfectly taut.  Her sienna colored hands were gentle and efficient. She leveled one immaculately manicured finger at Eren. 

"Don't you go tiring him out, now!  You want me to get you a lunch too?"

Eren nodded meekly.

The two men sat in silence, Levi fiddling with his wires, Eren frowning down at the blanket.

“Levi,” Eren said finally,

“There’s nothing to talk about, brat.”

“There is!”

“Then what?” Levi spat, “That you were rip-tearing drunk when we did it?”

“I made it clear before we ever started drinking what I wanted!” Eren said,

“What?!” Levi said, “What did you want?!  A runty ex-con with no future, a bad attitude, and no social skills?!”

“You!  I want  _ you _ !”

“You don’t know  _ what _ you want, kid!’  Levi sat upright, wincing in pain, “You’re young, cute, a hard worker!  What’s the attraction, here?  _ You’re _ the prize, not me!”

“Are you suggesting that I’m too young to know your worth?”

“Worth?  What worth?

Eren’s hands balled into rage-tight fists

“I’m not some kid!  Stop treating me like a child!”  And he was gone, stomping out the door and down the hall.  Levi heard the stairwell door slam.

He sat slowly back and, after a while, wiped furiously underneath his eyes.

He sat like that, stiff and red-eyed, until well after dark.

  
  


When Eren returned the next night, contrite and apologetic, Levi’s bed was made and empty, his stuff gone.

“Uhm, excuse me?” Eren clutched a worse for wear bouquet of daisies in one hand and tugged at a stringy blonde nurse’s sleeve with the other.  “Where’s the man in 226?”

“Dark haired man?  Bad attitude?” The nurse settled a fist on each hip. “Discharged himself last night, thank the powers that be,”

 

The next morning, was Levi sat in his apartment, bottle of wine in one hand, bottle of pain meds in the other when a soft knock sounded at the door.  The older man winced and rolled his eyes. He sloppily poured another glass of wine and slipped his pills into his pocket.

He ignored the knock.

 

At midnight - after the diner had closed - the knock came again, softly, but Levi was asleep on the couch, empty wine bottle in hand.

 

The next morning a voice followed the knock.

“Levi?”

Levi flinched from where he sat, unshaven and ratty haired in the exact same spot on the couch.  He had a fresh bottle of wine.

“Levi, please.  Please answer the door.”

Eren - for that’s who it was, of course - leaned his forehead against the old wood.

“Levi please!  I know you’re in there.  I know you’re in a lot of pain.  You discharged yourself way too soon!  At least let me take care of you!”

Levi dropped his head back onto the back of the couch and contemplated the ceiling.

“Go away, kid.”

“Mr Dok is holding your job for you.  So don’t worry about that.”

Levi snorted to himself.

“He says he’s ready for you to be back, cuz my dishwashing sucks.  He says he’s never seen anyone fuck up dishes like me.” 

Levi smiled a small smile at that.

Eren caressed the wooden door briefly. 

“I miss you,”

Levi’s face twisted at that.

“I said go away, Eren.” He said, strangled

“Give me a chance, Levi.  Give _ us _ a chance.”

Levi had rolled off of the couch and was crawling laboriously toward the door, dragging his bad leg and his bottle of wine.  He finally made it and sat, back against the door, cradling his wine. He tilted his head back until it thumped onto the door.

“After the nigh’ we spent together you can say that?”

“What about that night?!” Eren barked.  Judging from his voice he was also on the floor in front of the door. “It was amazing!  Why did you leave? What …”

Levi blinked groggily.

_ Eren had enjoyed it? _

It had certainly  _ seemed _ like he’d enjoyed it.  Levi had thought over and fantasised about their night together many many times.  No, that was just ridiculous. He may have enjoyed the act itself but it was just a one night stand.  No one would want Levi in their lives.

He hiccuped softly.

Eren tapped the door.  Yep he was sitting down as well, his knock was quite low down on the wood.  

“Levi?  Levi, are you drinking?  You shouldn’t drink with your meds.”

“Mind your own biss-ness kid.”  

Levi absently pressed his free hand’s palm to the door.  God, he missed that stupid brat outside.

“You  _ are _ drinking!  Levi please just let me in!”

“Nope.”  Levi took a big swig of wine.

“Fine!  I’ll be back tonight!”

Levi could hear the boy scrambling up from the floor.  His next statement was almost a shout and from the direction of the stairs

“You’re not getting rid of me, Levi!  I’ll keep coming back until you say - to my face - that you don’t feel anything for me!”

Levi listened to feet stomping down the stairs.  He tipped his wine bottle up to his lips.

“Can’t say that, kid.”  He murmured. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting an extra day this week!

Ch 6

The next day was more of the same except that Levi, who had managed an awkward sponge bath and had washed his hair, wasn’t drunk.  He did have his wine, however, and when Eren arrived outside the door was already sat, waiting.

Eren settled onto the floor outside the door.

“How are you today, Levi?”

“Well, my ass hurts from sitting on the floor like this.”  He took a swig of wine.

“Well, you could let me in …”

“Well,“ Levi mocked, “You could leave me alone …”

“You know I’m not gonna do that,” Eren said firmly.

“Stupid.”

“Why?” 

Levi could hear the belligerent undertone creeping in.

“Look at how you're wasting your life now!”  He said, “You’ve inherited my dead-end job, you’re stalking some loser …”

“Bullshit!” Eren snapped.  Levi smiled on his side of the wood.  There was the hot headed Eren he knew and loved.

Loved?

What was he thinking?

  
  


It became a routine.  Every day, before work, Eren would come and they’d talk through the door.  The neighbors looked oddly at Eren sat in the hall talking through a piece of wood but they left them alone.

Then on the fifth day, something changed.

Levi was hobbling and hopping around his kitchen on one crutch and one leg, boiling chicken bones for soup stock.  Eren had commented the day before at Levi’s first attempt at cooking after the accident: he could smell the rich tomatoey sauce through the door.

Levi was just adding the onions and garlic to today’s fare.

“Maybe this will tempt that brat and …”

There was an eager knocking on the door.

“Eren?”

“Levi!  Open up!  I have something for you!”

Levi slowly crossed his living space.

“Hah!  Nice try eren!  I’m not opening the door.  Go away.”

The order to leave was a flaccid one.  Levi didn’t want Eren to leave and Eren had no intentions of going.  Levi reached the door. He peered through the peephole.

“Seriously!  Let me in!” Eren insisted, ”It’s not a trick!  I have something and it’s too thick to slide under the door!”

“As I recall, it’s indeed quite thick,”  Levi quipped.

“Levi!”

Levi pondered.  Should he open up?  It was kind of stupid for two grown men to spend days speaking to one another through a  _ door _ .  He was curious as to what had gotten the young man so excited and God knew he wanted Eren to come in.  He missed seeing him. Missed touching him, kissing him, missed …

Levi unlocked the door.

Eren burst through the door like a racehorse out of the gate waving what appeared to be a stack of manuscripts.

“You know French, right?!”

Levi nodded dumbly.  What had gotten into this brat?

“I think I have you a job!

“Well calm down and sit down and give me a chance to figure out what the hell you’re talking about.”  Levi began stumping toward the kitchen, “I’ll make tea and …”

“This is more important than tea, Levi!”

For a second Levi looked positively scandalised.

Eren waved the manuscripts again.

“This guy at the university needs translations!  He’s desperate for them! Do you speak any more languages?  Well, nevermind, he really needs--”

“German.  And Japanese.”

Eren’s mouth dropped open.

“What?”

“I speak German and Japanese, too.  My mother was half and half. She taught me both.”

Eren ran his hand through his hair distractedly.

_ And this guy washes dishes for a living? _

“Well, that’s even better …”

“Let me see that,” Levi said

Eren suddenly realized how close Levi was standing as he read the professor’s note that was paperclipped to the manuscript.  He could smell the delicious scent of onions and garlic on Levi’s hands, smell Levi’s own clean scent of soap. He could even see the faint sheen of perspiration on his temple from standing over the stove.  He suddenly and overwhelmingly wanted to kiss him.

 

A sharp knock sounded on the door.

“Levi?  It’s Hange!  Let me in it’s important!”

“Jesus.  I’m awfully popular today.” Levi groused.

Eren rushed to get the door and Hange swept in without paying him any mind.  The look on her face was grim.

Levi paled.

“What is it Hange?  I haven’t seen you this serious in a while.”  Levi tossed the manuscript onto the table. “That bastard Dok fired me didn’t he?  Did they leave the Triumph outside? Is it OK? Has it been stolen?!”

Levi gripped his dishcloth in both white-knuckled fists.

“Your bike is fine, Levi.” Hange said heavily, shedding her coat and unwinding her long scarf.  “Nile didn’t fire you, either”

“Then what …?”

Hange sat with a sigh.  Eren began chewing his lip.

“Levi, they charged both you and the guy driving the car in the accident.”

“What?!  That bastard hit  _ me _ !”

“They said you were driving recklessly …”

“That’s bullshit!” Eren interjected, “Levi is a very careful with his bike!”

“Well, they found you partially at fault,” Hange said, ignoring Eren.

Levi studied his friend a long time .

“So why the long face, shitty glasses?  My insurance will pay for m--”

“Reckless driving is a misdemeanor, Levi.”

“So?” Eren said

Hange regarded the young man sadly.

“Because it means Levi has violated his parole.”

Eren looked desperately at Levi who had gone as pale as milk.

“So what does that mean?  What’s going to happen?”

Levi sighed and he and Hange locked gazes

“If they convict him, It means another three years in prison.”

  
  


Levi wasn't sure he could handle it.  wasn't sure he could after all this time after everything he had denied himself he wasn't sure he could live with going back to prison.  It wasn't the experience itself, it was being without. Without Hange who was his friend, without his job which gave him a purpose. Without Eren.  Just the thought of being separated from the warm smiling face of the young man hurt him, terrified him in a way he couldn't explain.

He had to do whatever it took to  _ not _ go back.

 

“Why are we here again?”  Eren whispered, tugging at the neck of his dress shirt.

They were both in suits and sat side by side in the crowded waiting room of the office of the district attorney.

“Number one, you don't have to be here, brat”

Eren frowned belligerently.  

“Two,  I told you my only chance is this meeting with the prosecutor of my case and my court appointed counsel where I agree to  _ anything _ that means I don’t go back to prison.”

“I don’t understand any of that,”

“Well you don’t need to.”

“You’re treating me like a child again!”

“You’re acting like a child again!”

They fell into a sullen silence.

Levi sighed and adjusted his tie nervously.

“I’ll visit you every day” Eren whispered suddenly. 

“That’s stupid,”  Levi snapped, “Do you know how far the penitentiary is from your flat?”  Levi noticed that Eren had just assumed he’d be going back to prison. Hell, he assumed the same.

Eren fumed for a minute. 

“Then I’ll visit you every week!”

Levi frowned, clearly irritated and anxious.

“Why?  Why would you want to?!  Jesus.”

Eren jumped up suddenly, standing over Levi, fists clenched.  The older man looked up, startled.

“You are impossible!”  Eren spat.

“Then why are you here?!”  Levi asked.

“Why am I  _ here? _  Why do I want to  _ visit you?! _  Because … because, you idiot ...  _ I love you! _ ”

The shout seemed to reverberate in the room.

Several people turned to stare and Eren sat down slowly, cheeks burning.

Levi sat rigid.  A long uncomfortable silence stretched out.

“So you love me, eh?”  Levi said at last

“I do,” Eren said

They sat in silence for a bit more. 

“I guess I have to say ‘I love you’, too?” Levi whispered.

“Not if you don’t mean it.”

“Can I get a few minutes to think about it?”

Eren grinned. 

“Can I hold your hand while you're thinking?” He asked

Levi squirmed.

“Is it clean?”

Eren giggled and grasped the other man’s hand.

“Too late now.”

Levi looked with mock concern at their joined hands

“Ackerman?”  It was the clerk of court.

They both started, unclasped hands, and Levi stood awkwardly.

“The DA will see you now,”

Eren clenched his hands in his lap and squirmed in agony in his seat as Levi slowly hobbled through the door on his crutches.

Eren had no idea what he’d do if Levi got sent back.  He had gotten used to levi, his dry wit, his acerbic tongue - and they were making progress!  He shook his head sadly. How was he going to maintain their relationship with Levi incarcerated?  It was bad enough that he was going to have to explain to his mom that he had a boyfriend but that he’s a jailbird, too?

Prison was all men.  What if Levi found a guy he liked in there?  Someone he like better than Eren, someone more his age, with his tastes, his life experiences?

Eren chewed his thumbnail, his mind in turmoil.

 

After what seemed like ages, but was probably less than twenty minutes, Levi returned to the waiting room.  He gestured with his head for Eren to follow him out.

As soon as they were outside Eren began speaking.

“They didn’t take you into custody?  When will you leave? What’s happened?!”

Suddenly and startlingly Levi smiled.

Eren went quiet at the glory that was that tiny grin.

“The prosecutor agreed to reduce the charges.”  Levi said, “I opted for a plea bargain to just speeding.  I have to pay a whopping fine but the misdemeanor becomes an infraction.”

“Is that good?  What does that mean?”

“It’s not a criminal offense!  I haven’t broken my parole!”

“Oh my god, Levi!”  Eren threw his arms around the other man’s neck.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

“Soooo … more popcorn?”  Eren asked.

He and Levi were sat, a discrete distance apart, on Eren’s worn sofa.  On the TV screen the Winter Soldier was trying his damndest to kill his erstwhile best friend, Steve Rogers.

“Nah, I’m good.  I have enough shit to pick out of my teeth already.” Levi said.  “This wine is fucking vile, by the way.”

Eren cringed and Levi softened.

“Ahh, it’s not that bad.  Open the other bottle why don’t you?”

Eren had to control himself from leaping up and hurrying to the tiny kitchenette.  As he passed his bed he looked over it quickly - clean linens, and well made; perfect.  He fetched the wine.

Three more glasses later, (and a few calculated scoots to the left that brought his thigh into contact with Levi’s), he made his move.

“What are you doing, brat?”  Levi asked as Eren gently took his wine glass from him.

“Just putting the glasses over here …”

He leaned pointedly over Levi’s lap to reach the end table and heard Levi’s sharp intake of breath.

“Are we doing this?”  Levi whispered.

“We’re doing this,” Eren said firmly, straightening.

“Well alrighty then …”

Their lips met like two shy schoolboys’ and for a long delicious moment they just explored each other’s mouths.

Slowly, Levi deepened the kiss, trying to press Eren back onto the couch.  Eren was having none of it. 

He slung one long leg over Levis’ and straddled him, pleased to feel the other man’s growing erection.

“Let’s take it slow this time,” Levi said, “I don’t want to hurt--”

“Forget that,” Eren said, “I want it now.  I want you. Now.”

He ground his crotch, hard, onto Levi’s making the older man hiss.

“Shit!  You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Levi quickly shed his own shirt and began working on Eren’s, sucking and kissing as each bit of flesh was exposed.  He ran his hands over Eren’s softly tanned flesh and, kissing one nipple, made the young man arch up enticingly.

“You’re so beautiful, Eren.  I don’t deserve you.”

“Bullshit,” Eren breathed.

Levi grinned against the boy’s hot skin, circling the other nipple with his tongue.

Eren gasped at that and struggled with Levi’s fly, releasing the impressive erection he remembered.  He slid off of Levi’s lap, going to his knees in front of the man.

Levi stroked Eren’s face, eyes blown wide with lust.

“God, that’s so fucking hot, Eren.”

“Do you want me to suck it?”

“You have no idea.”

Eren put on an innocent expression.

“I’ve never done this before you know …”

Levi bucked his hips up slightly, breathing hard.

“Improvise.  I’m about to blow my load in your face, you tease.”

“Tell me.  Tell me what you want me to do.”

He dragged his tongue on the underside of the man’s cock head and Levi groaned.

“Fucking suck it.  Take as much in as you can.”

The younger man wholeheartedly bobbed down on the other’s dick like he was enjoying a rocket pop on a hot summer’s day.

“Fuck, Eren!”  Levi arched his back up, pushing another inch into the hot, eager mouth.  “Oh, fuck me, I’m not gonna last long! Let’s get to the bed.”

“Umm umm,” Eren said warningly around his mouthful, and far from disengaging, instead started up a brisk rhythm.

Levi gasped and clenched the sofa cushions in white knuckled hands.  For a moment he was just frozen there, rigid, enveloped in the delicious sensation of Eren’s warm mouth around him.  Finally he managed words.

“I’m gonna cum in your mouth, brat!  Forget the bed! Stop that and get up here!”

Eren came off Levi’s cock with a grin on his face.

“Back on your lap?”  He asked sweetly, shimmying out of his trousers and underpants.

“Now, kid!  Get that sweet ass up here!”

Eren settled back onto the older man’s lap and snagged a bottle of lube from out of the couch cushions.

“Prepared aren’t we?” Levi asked, gripping Eren’s thigh with one hand and snatching the lube with the other.

Eren giggled then gasped as Levi’s lubed up fingers found his ass.

They kissed fiercely as Levi slid two digits into the other’s tight hole.

“Oh, Levi …”  For a moment Eren slowly rode Levi’s fingers until Levi positioned the head of his cock against Eren’s ass.

“Just go down slowly.  Take it easy.”

Eren dipped downward, gasping at the stretch.  Levi struggled to stay still.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little, but it feels so good …”

Levi reached around and grasped both asscheeks, spreading the younger man and causing him to sink downward even more.

“Levi!  Oh! That feels amazing!  Ah! Tell me what you want!”

“I want you to fuck yourself on my fat cock, you tease.  Take every inch.”

Levi tremblingly guided him as more and more of his dick disappeared up Eren’s ass.  When the thickest part was in, Eren started a tentative stroke that Levi mimicked and soon Eren was balls deep and riding him hard, crying out at every downstroke.

Levi rolled his hips expertly, lower lip caught in his teeth, searching for that sweet spot.

He found it and Eren gasped.

“God, Levi!”

The younger man threw his head back and increased his tempo, his cries rising to shrieks as he approached his release.

“You’re doing so well,” Levi purred, “So well for Levi.  Ride it, Eren. Just like that.”

The visual was just as good as the feeling and Levi felt his own orgasm building in his groin.  He closed his hand over Eren’s erection. He knew the boy was close.

“Oh, Levi!  Don’t touch it, you’re gonna make me cum!  Levi!”

“I’m way ahead of you, kid.  Christ, I hope you don’t have neighbors.  Fuck, Eren!  _ Fuck! _ ”

The intensity of Levi’s orgasm took him by surprise and he shuddered through his own release as Eren came in his hand, gasping and panting and hiding his face in the other’s neck.

After they both came down from their respective highs, Levi fondled the back of Eren’s neck.

“Good?”

“That was even better than before.”  Eren raised his head and blinked those big green eyes at Levi.

“Can we do it again?”

 

Epilogue

 

Two weeks later ---

“Why don’t you quit this shitty job?  You make much more translating.” Hange asked.  They were the last customer in the empty diner.

“I  _ like _ this shitty job, besides Eren and I split the time, so I’m here four hours and he’s here eight.”

Hange was contemplating the urge to lick her plate when Levi snatched it out of her hand.  She looked forlornly at the gobs of cherry pie filling wasted.

“Hurry up and finish your coffee, four-eyes, I got a boyfriend to get home to and I know Moblit’s most likely got supper on the table for you.”

Hange’s eyes lit up behind her glasses.

“Ohhh … and it’s meatloaf night!  I gotta go! My love to Eren!”

Levi snorted and wiped off the table, turning the lights off as he left the dining area.

He ran the last few dishes through the washer, wrung the mop out and hung it up.  He limped out the back door and into the night. Spring was coming slowly, the snowdrops were up in planters and window boxes

and here and there an eager, stubborn, daffodil showed off it’s gaudy yellow amongst the green stems.  It was still quite chilly but the air was definitely changing.

Levi mounted the Triumph; it was still sporting a bit of primer on the straightened back bumper plus a new muffler on that side.

“C’mon baby,”  He murmured, “let’s go home.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say how much I appreciate all of my readers and commenters! This was the first time I had published chapter by chapter and I was REALLY uncertain about it but you guys really came through and made the experience a DELIGHTFUL one! I love you all so much! <3


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